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Mushroom learns to crawl after being given robot body
(www.independent.co.uk)
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this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024
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Did the mushroom learn to control a robot, or did the scientists figure out how to connect a robot to a mushroom in such a way as to make the regular processes happening inside the mushroom trigger a set of robot legs? Because the article makes it seem like the mushroom is intelligent and has agency, and was thus far only lacking the proper robot body in order to express that; but the video makes it look like the legs were all pumping in unison, and the resulting movement was more or less coincidental.
The article actually explains that the mushroom is essentially being hijacked for some of its sensory abilities, like light and heat. The mushroom is connected to an electronic circuit. The electronics make decisions about what to do based on the mushrooms' sensory observations.
It's a clickbait title, but the article does clarify.
Robot uses mushrooms as living sensor would have intrigued me
Right? Why lie. Using mushrooms as a living sensor is cool as hell. Mushrooms can span miles through mycelium with multiple fruiting bodies. If you could take input from one body and get information from all the fruiting bodies that could be a cool way to get aggregate data across an area with little effort. Especially since mushrooms can grow in irradiated or otherwise dangerous locations.
The mushroom learned to ride a Gundam with the determination of revenging humans for the damage we have done to mother earth. Trust me bro I'm the scientists.
It just using mushrooms as a sensor. The mushroom senses light, that causes an electrical response in the mycelium, electronics sense that electric signal and use it as a trigger to perform whatever.
The cool part comes from these living components added to robots having the potential to be better and cheaper than the regular tools we use for the job but unfortunately no sentient mushroom robots to party with yet.
I would more think of the fungus from The Last Of Us. This fungus really exists (maybe not to this scale pictured) and it controls ants after infecting them. It directly controls their muscles, while growing a fruit body out of the ant's head.
The fungus senses light and humidity. Therefor it climbs plants up and down. The ant is just a vehicle, like a robot body.
Damn. Why didn't you say that sooner. Now I understand how it works! Thank you.
Or that fungus that makes the snails look like they've simultaneously become interested in the rave scene and inflation.
If you dumb it down enough that's exactly what humans do with our legs
Yes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_communication